In August of 1949, Mit'hat Frashëri, the descendant of the foremost Albanian family and former leader of the Balli Kombëtar (National Front), delivers a speech on the illustrious BBC network. Like many Albanian intellectuals, he finds himself in exile, and in this speech he will announce the creation of the anti-communist Committee For a Free Albania. In addition to the announcement, the Albanian language address has two objectives: firstly, as indicated by its transmission through an English radio station, Frashëri seeks to distinguish the Albanian people from the increasingly hostile communist regime in the eyes of the Western world. Secondly, yet no less importantly, the speech is directed at his own people, whom he urges to maintain a spirit of resistance to the communist regime, which is characterized as a Russian transplant. The common assertion that an appeal by Frashëri would have been entirely ineffectual by this point, as the regime had been instilling its worldview into the population for almost five years, is rendered doubtful by reports that the authorities took severe measures, including power cuts, to ensure that Albanians would not be exposed to Frashëri's message.
This speech takes place at a momentous crossroads in 20th century Albanian history. In less than two months after his address, Mit'hat Frashëri passes away in New York. The anti-communist resistance movement is dealt another significant blow with the espionage of Kim Philby on behalf of the communist camp, and the movement is condemned to the insignificance of exile, while the communist regime gradually envelops every aspect of Albanian life.
As a consequence, this speech, much like anything which opposed the regime's narrative, has not been a part of the collective consciousness of subsequent Albanian generations. It is this fact that makes the preservation and transmission of these documents ever more important.
"Dear friends, it is fast approaching a week since the creation of the Committee For a Free Albania was announced. This may have come as a surprise to many listeners, but those who have been closely following developments over these last four years have without a doubt discerned that an activity of this kind was being drawn up by the Albanians who find themselves in exile. The Communist occupation of Albania and the departure of the Allies from our land forced many Albanians into exile, not to shelter themselves from communist danger, but rather to continue their efforts and maintain relationships with the liberal Western powers which were already established in Albania. The undertaking, needless to say, has not been easy. Many wrongheaded ideas that sprouted during the war, and especially towards the end of it, remained to be corrected. And, as the whole world knows, it is difficult to correct mistakes once they are accepted as truth.
The utterly inhumane behavior of those who usurped power and founded the so-called “government of Tirana”, including illegal executions and show trials where one cannot see even a hint of justice, and the attitude these despots of Tirana quickly adopted toward the great democratic powers of the world, had awakened in the public opinion a certain hatred and disdain toward those responsible for these barbaric acts. Even more unfortunately, over half of the world is unable to distinguish between the innocent Albanian people and those who usurped power with Russian help. It is necessary, then, to separate the Albanian people from the self-proclaimed government of Tirana. It was an obligation to not let an innocent people, victims of a small, unscrupulous clique be seen as one and the same with the satellites of Russia, to be saved from the hatred and disdain of the civilized world.
In addition to this, it ought to be emphasized that not only were this people not involved in the workings of the quisling government in Tirana, but were rather a victim of their bloody acts. Parallel with this duty, we felt the need to bring to light the evidence of the unspeakable suffering undergone by this people, who are not only refused the right to life through imprisonments, interments, executions and secret suffocations in prisons and narrow thorny paths, but an even darker terror altogether: they were preparing for it a slow and steady death, by refusing its daily bread and cutting it off from medical aid, including doctors. Thousands of children have contracted tuberculosis and deaths have tripled, according to the wishes of those who rule from Tirana’s majestic buildings. It is easy to see that the villains of Tirana felt a certain delight when they released their hatred on this people, who are not only innocent and honorable, but noble and capable, too.
Meanwhile, the enlightened outside world, which did not accept either the “paradise of communism” or the neophytism of the satellites, gradually began to feel a certain mercy and pity for Albania, this victim of communism. On the other hand, we can say that even those in exile saw with every passing day that the power was fleeing from the despots of Tirana, with their membership thinning and their ranks slowly dividing. The Albanians, this toughened people, which suffers but also feels, which sighs, but also hopes and remembers, made out to see the truth, to see the danger and misfortune the treacherous communists hurled them into, and began opening its eyes and intensifying its will. It is to unite with the goal of helping awaken the people and quickening the enforcement of its consciousness that the Committee For a Free Albania was formed.
Our platform will forever remain righteous. Our program is to gain the independence and secure the integrity of our country. We want the Albanian to have his soul and mind always concentrated on the wellbeing of Albania. We will try at all times to say that which is truthful and to guide toward the righteous path. This is our appeal to the almighty God, and we pray that all true Albanians show themselves worthy of being the servants of Albania."